Education Ministry Aiming for Full Compliance with Procurement Procedures

The Ministry of Education has said it welcomes the scrutiny of the Auditor General into how it manages public resources. In its latest annual report the Auditor General rapped the Ministry’s procurement committee for approving expenditure on two occasions when the nine-member body met without a quorum present.

In response to the Auditor General’s findings Permanent Secretary Elaine Foster-Allen admitted that the Ministry failed to follow the Procurement Guidelines on two occasions. She said there were challenges with attendance at the approximately 44 times that the Education Ministry’s procurement committee met, which resulted in the two instances of no quorum.

The Permanent Secretary said the Education Ministry staff were not offended by the Auditor General’s citation and will use the report as a stepping stone to achieve full compliance. "It is there to help us to be better at what we are expected to do,” she stated.

Mrs Foster-Allen noted that, given the other calls on officers' time, they contributed to the work of the procurement committee to the best of their ability.